Three Of Us review: Shefali Shah, the center of this triangle, treads the fine balance between underlining her part, and managing the delicate touches that her character requires, and mostly manages to pull it off.
Avinash Arun’s ‘Three Of Us’ delves into the profound impact of memories on our identity. As our recollections fade, what remains of us? The film is a touching exploration of remembrance and the interconnectedness of forgetting. It revolves around three central characters: Shailaja and Dipankar Patankar, a long-married couple in Mumbai, and Shailaja’s childhood friend, Pradeep Kamat. When Shailaja returns to the small Konkan town of her upbringing, she embarks on a journey of rediscovery with Pradeep, revisiting places from her past. Old wounds resurface as they navigate the landscapes of their shared memories. While some elements may evoke comparisons with Celine Song’s ‘Past Lives,’ this cinematic tribute to memory and remembrance carries a unique emotional resonance.
In ‘Three Of Us,’ the journeys through the lush, green landscapes, reminiscent of Avinash Arun’s earlier film ‘Killa,’ serve as symbolic maps. These explorations simultaneously reveal and conceal the familiar patterns that couples often find themselves in. The old friend and the “what-might-have-been” question come to the forefront during a poignant and climactic stretch. There’s the natural discomfort of a spouse encountering a stranger who shared a significant part of his wife’s life, someone never mentioned before but clearly unforgettable, especially as she teeters on the brink of memory loss. On the other side, there’s the man who was left behind, forging a new life with his own family. Pradeep Kamat’s character, portrayed by Ahlawat, is impeccably nuanced, despite being somewhat of a departure from his typical roles, reminiscent of his performance in ‘Jaane Jaan.’ Kirkire, in the role of a man selling life insurance while grappling with the uncertainties of life itself, delivers a spot-on performance.
